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Alderson could be Mets' GM by Friday

Alderson could be Mets' GM by Friday

By Anthony DiComo
/
MLB.com |

SAN FRANCISCO -- Sandy Alderson interviewed with Mets brass for the third time Tuesday in what may have been his final visit to Citi Field as an outsider. The Mets could unveil their new general manager as soon as this Friday, and Alderson remains the presumptive favorite.

Despite multiple reports Tuesday that the Mets have chosen Alderson, the team has not yet made its decision official.

"We have nothing to announce tonight," a team spokesman said in an e-mail late Tuesday.

Traveling to Citi Field for the second time this month, Alderson met with principal owner Fred Wilpon, chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon and president Saul Katz. He had toured the park last week with Jeff Wilpon and assistant GM John Ricco, after an initial interview with Wilpon and Ricco earlier this month in Manhattan.

On Monday, the Mets met for a second time with former D-backs GM Josh Byrnes, the only other candidate to earn a call-back interview. The team did not invite Allard Baird, Rick Hahn, Logan White or Dana Brown back for a second meeting.

"Fred, Saul and I met with Sandy Alderson today at Citi Field," Jeff Wilpon said Tuesday in a statement. "We will have no further comment on the process until we are ready to announce our new general manager."

Alderson, 62, is considered the clear frontrunner after helping construct an A's team that won four division titles, three pennants and one World Series during 15 seasons as general manager from 1983-97. He later worked for Major League Baseball before heading San Diego's baseball operations department for four years.

Last summer, Alderson left that post, becoming an MLB consultant for the league's interests in the Dominican Republic. In that role, he has worked to reduce the prevalence of age falsification and the use of performance-enhancing drugs in the Dominican.

Though MLB typically frowns upon teams making significant announcements during the World Series, the Mets could ask the league permission to introduce their new GM on Friday's off-day between World Series Games 2 and 3.

Anthony DiComo is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @AnthonyDicomo. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.